Deacon Patrick Moynihan demolishes a wall as part of an effort to renovate LCS buildings for seismic upgrades.
Undoubtedly, the highest cost exacted by the 2010 earthquake was the horrific number of deaths and serious life-altering injuries.
But this weekend, I again felt resentment over the second cost of the quake – material damage – welling up inside of me as I took my turn with the sledge hammer to take out yet another cinder block wall. Having been part of the work crew that put this wall in place, I could not help think about the tremendous amount of human effort it took to make the wall that was falling in pieces at our feet. First, there was bringing the block to the second floor and then bringing up the mortar after mixing it below. Amazing amounts of hard work was crumbling at our feet.
Hitting the wall harder with the quake in mind, I fought off the sadness knowing this work, while it was part of the loss caused by the last earthquake, assured a victory over the next one.
Peace,
Patrick
